Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

, which governs the City of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

History

Cambridge was granted a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorded mayor, Harvey FitzEustace, did not serve until 1213. Cambridge was granted its

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charte ...

in 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance, and economic success. There are a number of ceremonial items used by the Council which date to different periods of history.

Activities

The council provides various facilities and services within the city. These include parks and open spaces, waste collection, council housing and local planning. The Council also organises numerous events throughout the year, including the

Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix o ...

and a programme of free summer entertainment entitled ''Summer in the City''. Its base is the

Cambridge Guildhall Cambridge Guildhall is a civic building in the centre of the historic city of Cambridge, England. It includes two halls, ''The Large Hall'' and ''The Small Hall'', and is used for many disparate events such as comedy acts, conferences, craft fai ...

, on the south side of

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Arbury Arbury is a district and electoral ward of the city of Cambridge, England. The ward borders the following other wards (from North, proceeding clockwise): Histon, King's Hedges, West Chesterton, Market and Castle. History The area has been occu ...

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Cherry Hinton Cherry Hinton is a suburban area of the city of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, England. It is around southeast of Cambridge city centre. History The rectangular parish of Cherry Hinton occupies the western corner of Flendish hundred on the so ...

, Coleridge,

East Chesterton East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

King's Hedges King's Hedges is an electoral ward in the north of the city of Cambridge, England. History The open land to the north of Cambridge that now comprises King's Hedges was known as ''Albrach'' from as early as the 13th century. In 1558 it was agree ...

, Market, Newnham,

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

, Queen Edith's,

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the ...

, Trumpington, and West Chesterton. There are 42 city councillors with three elected in each ward. A new mayor and deputy mayor are elected every May, by the full council at its annual meeting. The mayor for 2022-2023 is Mark Ashton. The mayor's duties are almost entirely ceremonial, although the mayor chairs meetings of the full council. The leader of the council is Anna Smith ( Labour), and the deputy leader is Alex Collis ( Labour). The official opposition is

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

, with Tim Bick leading that group and Cheney Payne being deputy leader. The highest non-elected official is the chief executive. Robert Pollock took up the post in 2021. Elections for a third of the seats take place three out of every four years.

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a me ...

elections take place in the 4th year. Due to boundary changes there was an "all up" (all Councillors are up for election) election in 2021, on the same day as other local elections. Cambridge City Council Flag

Notes

References

Cambridge City Council

Cambridge Mayor's Office

External links

Open data about Cambridge City Council on OpenlyLocalCambridge City Council YouTube channel
{{Authority control

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

Non-metropolitan district councils of England Billing authorities in England Local authorities in Cambridgeshire